This is one of the more interesting plants on Cape Cod – it has no chlorophyll, and therefore no green leaves, so it cannot obtain energy from sunlight. Instead, it gets nutrients as follows: In the leaves of a nearby tree, or photosynthesizing plant, carbon dioxide is turned into sucrose, which is transported to the […]
Archive for the ‘Interesting’ Category
Monotropa uniflora (indian pipe)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on July 10, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Are you a member yet? Join the club mosses
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on July 10, 2011 | 3 Comments »
So what are club mosses anyway? They are flowerless and seedless plants in the family Lycopodiaceae, that belong to a very ancient group of plants. they were the dominant plants during the Coal age (360-286 million years ago) and many were shrubs or large trees. We are very likely consuming these plants in the form […]
Beauty of the beast
Posted in Fauna, Interesting on July 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The beauty of this hairy caterpillar is quite astounding. Unfortunately, in this case beauty belies the true nature of this animal. This is a gypsy moth caterpillar, and these pests have been ravaging the white oaks in my yard for many years now. Eventually they may become just too much for the trees. Huge areas […]
Meet the original potato beetle
Posted in Fauna, Interesting on July 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The three lined potato beetle (Lema trilineata) has been pushed out of the limelight by the colorado potato beetle, wich moved eastward from the Rockies in the 1850s. The larvae of these species do quite the job on cultivated potato, tomato and eggplant foliage. I grow none of those in my garden, and none of […]
from the invasives dossier: Verbascum thapsus (common mullein)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Invasive, Plant bio on July 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
The leaves of this European plant are a grayish-green color with soft, velvety hairs. Common mullein is a biennial. In its first year, it grows leaves in a basal rosette It sends up a flower stalk and produces seeds in the second year. Most of the flowering mullein plants I’ve seen have been a respectable 3 to […]
From the non-native dossier: Achillea millefolium (yarrow)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Invasive, Plant bio on July 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
There is some disagreement on whether this plant is native or not. Achillea millefolium is a plant omnipresent in Europe and Asia, and most think that it was introduced in North America in early colonial times. Others seem to think that there is a native species, although it is indistinguishable from the Eurasian plant. I’ll consider […]
Impatiens capensis (jewelweed)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on July 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This annual plant goes by many names, but jewelweed or spotted touch-me-not seem most appropriate. Dew often gathers in glistening drops on the flowers, and it produces long seed capsules that split and propel the seeds when touched. Jewelweed likes it moist and is at home in woods and on streambanks. The flowers are frequently […]
Phytolacca americana (pokeweed)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Plant bio, Recipe, Tips on July 7, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Phytolacca americana is a tall fast-growing perennial, native to the eastern US. Currently pokeweed is starting to show greenish-white flowers, and in late summer and fall the plant will produce dark red berries that grow even darker over time. The juice of the berries was once used as an ink substitute, and to add color […]
Lathyrus palustris (marsh pea)
Posted in Edible, Flora, Interesting, Plant bio on July 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
This native member of the pea family is fairly abundant in wet thickets and low lying areas of the bay side on Cape Cod. If you take a bike ride through the coastal areas of Yarmouth and Barnstable you will see the pink and blue hues of Lathyrus palustris. The seeds are edible – you […]
From the invasives dossier: Solanum dulcamara (climbing nightshade)
Posted in Flora, Interesting, Invasive, Plant bio on July 5, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
For some reason I always associated this plant with poisons brewed back in medieval times, but that would have been deadly nightshade (Atropa belladonna). This plant from Eurasia is to be found all over the cape in moist and semi-shaded thickets and brush. It is all over my yard as well. Although it may not […]